up the film is an incredible and emotionally-moving masterpiece from Disney's Pixar with a powerful message on society's treatment of the elderly, relationships, life's purpose, along with other complex themes.
up the film is about an old man named Carl Fredricksen, a 78-year old balloon salesman who is about to fulfill a life-long dream. He ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies to the South American wilderness but his worst nightmare is when he finds a boy named Russell aboard the house.
I'll give a non-spoiler and spoiler review. The non-spoiler review will try to cover what's in the trailer and how I felt about up the film.
Non-spoiler review
When I saw the beginning of up the film, I walked out not because it was a bad movie. It was because i was so overwhelmed with emotion, I couldn't continue watching. I was a teen at the time. I was terrified of facing my future. I got really upset at how fast life passed. People pressured me to do my best to become successful by having a career, a house, education, and other things. I was looking for an escape from my problems and boring life. I felt like people held me to unrealistically high expectations. I resented people for not understanding why I wasn't trying my best. I didn't know what I wanted to do in life or how my future would look. The escape from reality for me was focusing so much on finding a relationship. I was so devastated at the thought of working so hard to get what you think makes you happy and loved by all only to see it disappear. When you're old, it feels like everyone including your spouse leaves you. It feels like people advantage of you, your accomplishments, your gifts, your body, your personality, money, etc. When you can no longer offer anything more as an elderly person, society isolates you with your kind then forgets about you.
I was very demoralized by these emotions. The thought of forming a relationship, the main form of escape from reality for me at the time, only to watch it disappear destroyed me. The thought of meeting unrealistic expectations and working so hard to be successful only to watch it disappear completely broke me. I thought "wow! This is the thanks i get for everything i do for society? What's the point in life if this is my future?"
After I processed my emotions, I watched it again. For a children's movie to get someone my age to react the way I did speaks volumes. That's what made up the film so memorable.
The animation
I loved the animation in up the film because it was so detailed and also helped us understand the characters better. Carl's unique square figure made him stand out from round characters like Russell.
Voice acting
I love the voice acting. Russell's voice was not a stereotypical child voice. It felt authentic as did all of the characters.
The cinematography
The cinematography also develops the story as well as reveal some of the most beautiful scenery. Wide camera shots reveal how small characters like Carl are in the beautiful landscape.
The soundtrack
Up the film's soundtrack is amazing. Not only does it sound like music from the 20th century, it adds so much emotional depth to the story.
The characters
I loved how deep the main characters were. They were well developed and three-dimensional. The side characters were also interesting.
The themes
I loved how up the film made an old man the main character rather than a child. It sends a powerful message that just because you're old, doesn't mean you have to live a sad life in isolation and despair. You can have a grand adventure at any age.
In summary of the non-spoiler review, up the film is a powerful movie with an inspiring and healing message. Its an adventurous story full of hope, joy, imagination, nature, etc. I highly recommend buying it on DVD. If you want to do that, please click the Amazon link below.
Spoiler review
The characters
I loved how up the film made all of the characters relatable and memorable.
Carl - I could completely relate to Carl. When he meets Ellie as a child, he stutters and he's anxious. I loved Carl's youthfulness, desire for adventure, passion, and inspiration. He looked up to Charles Muntz as a role model which is admirable. It brings back memories of when i was a child and full of life, inspiration, imagination, etc.
Ellie - I loved how up the film introduces Ellie who is an extremely sweet and lovable character. Carl hears a girl's voice in an abandoned house which makes him curious. He slowly creeps in and checks until he meets someone who's just like him. The only difference is Ellie feels more assertive and bold than Carl at the beginning of up the film. She inspires him to be courageous when she urges him to get his balloon. She cares for his well being evidenced by her bringing him his balloon at night.
Even as Ellie grows old, she still has the same enthusiasm and energy for an adventure like she did when she was a child.
Russell - Russell is a lovable and admirable character. He's like young Carl except he never looked up to Charles Muntz and formed his own identity instead evidenced by his clothes. Russell is vital to the story because he's what motivates Carl to continue his adventure.
Kevin - I loved Kevin's beautiful colorful design. Kevin was an important part of up the film because Russell loved animals. Kevin had a strong personality despite not talking. Kevin's kind to those who are kind to her but mean to those who aren't.
I loved how all of these characters needed each other in a way to form a family.
Charles Muntz - He's an interesting villain. He doesn't just do things for no reason. Assuming Charles Muntz was alive for the whole movie, we can infer his obsession over his career and grief over loss turned him into a villain. Muntz is a disturbing villain because he was willing to kill Carl and Russell to achieve what he wanted.
The story
up the film's story was very interesting from the beginning to end. It's a creative story about an old man trying to process grief through adventure. The movie introduces Charles Munz and his quest to explore paradise falls, a place unknown to civilization which is interesting.
There were several powerful symbols in up the film. I loved the idea of tying a bunch of balloons to a house and watching it fly. The house was a strong symbol of Carl's need to live in the past free from the rest of the world. When he talks to Ellie looking at the house, it's like he's talking to her house in heaven. When he has the house fly with balloons the first time, it gives a subtle and sad picture of Carl trying to fly into heaven to be with her.
Adding wearable tech. to Charles' dogs so they could talk was imaginative. It showed how much Charles loves dogs.
I loved how up the film leaves some aspects of the story ambiguous. For example, while it's revealed Charles Muntz is a villain later in up the film - one could argue he was a villain all along. When the scientists accuse Charles' of fabricating evidence at the beginning of the up film, notice Muntz body language. He looks villainous rather than heroic. It's interesting to note it's never explicitly stated whether he fabricated evidence or not.
Some theorize when Carl met Charles Muntz later in the film, Charles was an imposter when you compare their physical features. It's quite possible the imposter killed the real Charles Muntz.
Others theorize Carl actually died from a broken heart shortly after Ellie died and we simply saw his journey in the afterlife.
up the film does a great job in building tension in several scenes such as when Carl and Russell reach paradise falls.
The character development:
The characters in up the film grow dramatically and organically.
Carl realizes he and Ellie are old but he still has yet to take Ellie to paradise falls.
up the film does a splendid job in helping Carl grow as a character. After Carl loses Ellie, he becomes more cynical and pessimistic about life. You can see this as Carl sits alone mourning her loss for the whole day at her funeral before going into the darkness of his home. You can especially see the darker side of his character in the mailbox scene where he hits the construction worker out of anger. Carl's treatment of Russell at the beginning of up the film mostly shows his bitterness and darker character.
Carl only seeks to travel to paradise falls to fill the void left by Ellie's death and guilt over not taking her there.
I tried hard not to walk out again when up the film revealed Charles Munz was a villain. That was so devastating. I can't imagine the pain i'd feel if my childhood role model betrayed me in that manner. Its important to note Charles is a reflection of what Carl could be if he didn't resolve his grief over Ellie's death and bitterness with himself over not taking her to paradise falls.
One of the darkest scenes of up the film is the scene where Russell confronts Carl about a broken promise to keep Kevin no matter what. Carl has an outburst and in a way, rejects Dug along with Russell. Carl despairs and declares he's going to paradise falls with or without them. When he reaches paradise falls, the view is beautiful but you can tell Carl still feels unsatisfied. The absence of music sends a powerful message although Carl kept his promise to Ellie, he didn't receive the joy he expected. He goes back into the house and reads the Adventure book as if he's trying to find guidance on how to live his life after reaching paradise falls. When Russell throws him his explorer badges, Russell symbolically rejects Carl.
Gradually however, Carl lets go of his past symbolically. For example, in the scene where he takes out the items in his house so the house can fly and chase Russell. It's as if Carl refuses to let memories weigh him down. Carl once again meets Dug who helped Carl see Russell as a loyal loving person.
The last scene where Carl fights Charles Muntz shows one of Carl's final stages of character development. Carl is willing to let go of his past (the house being a symbol of it) to save his future (namely Russell). In contrast, Charles is not and that's why he died. Carl is not only shocked Muntz died but he died so quickly. For Carl's life, he believed Muntz to be invincible.
Russell also goes through character development in some form. He's willing to sacrifice a ton to save Kevin from Charles Muntz.
I loved how up the film had little to no character dialogue in some scenes especially the beginning. The storytelling was done mostly through the character's body language and environment.
The dialogue can be intense at times like in the scene where Muntz suggests Carl and Russell are lying about Kevin.
The dialogue felt very natural and dramatic. It had good subtext. For example, when Russell talked about his family - Carl feels bad so he recommends Russell get some sleep. Carl was indirectly trying to give him some comfort from sad memories.
The most powerful line Carl says in up the film is "I didn't ask for any of this!" It summarizes his feelings of all the tragedies he endured..
I love the humor in up the film mostly conveyed through dialogue. The monologue playing while Carl is imagining himself being Charles Muntz was funny.
The cinematography
up the film's cinematography was spectacular. In the opening scene, we see Charles from a lower angle to see how grand his demo. is. We see a beautiful view of the neighborhood and its time period from a wide shot of the place.
When the cam. zooms in on Carl's feet as he leaps over a small rock for example, up the film effectively illustrates young Carl's imagination and need for adventure.
In the balloon house scene, Carl walks out of his home as the camera gives a full view of the construction workers rebuilding the area around his home. The camera angle makes you feel like society treats seniors like second-class citizens.
The scenes
I'll give my thoughts on some of my favorite scenes of up the film.
The monologue at the beginning of up the film shows how much Carl wants to be like Charles Muntz and go on an adventure like him.
The montage scene was perhaps the most powerful scene of up the film. Ellie and Carl grow up to build their own world from the abandoned house where they first met as children. At Ellie and Carl's wedding, you could see the stark contrast in those who attended. Ellie's friends were happy for her while Carl's were not.
I loved how despite Carl's mistakes, Ellie is quite forgiving and accepting of them. They continue their adventure evidenced by Ellie observing the clouds as they watch.
Up the film's soundtrack is amazing. Not only does it sound like music from the 20th century, it adds so much emotional depth to the story. I loved how up the film's soundtrack at times creates elements of latin-American style of music to match the setting of paradise falls.
Ellie's theme in up the film is one of the most iconic pieces of the soundtrack. It effectively expresses the joy and adventurous spirit of childhood. As Carl and Ellie age, the theme's boy changes from a muted trumpet to a fiddle like violin. The vibraphone's melody stops midway in the scene of Ellie seeing clouds to illustrate the short lived desire for the couple to start a family.
In the scene where Ellie loses her child, the waltz disappears. Music slows down like their lives, becoming sad and lonely.
The music expresses Carl's innermost emotions and thoughts throughout up the film. When he first meets Ellie, the music expresses Carl's hesitation to trust Ellie and nervousness over her. When he's about to retrieve his balloon, the music tells us about his cautiousness. When Carl starts to fly to paradise fall, the music expresses his ambition and determination to reach his final destination through the monophonic melody. The soundtrack also expresses the concept of Ellie never left Carl from the monophonic melody progressing to a polyphonic melody. Carl's loneliness is conveyed before a feeling of comfort afterwards. The piano and adante help establish peacefulness.
When Ellie wakes up and sees Carl in the hospital, the music helps establish the mood of hope for Ellie's life. The theme's pace sometimes changes to illustrate the couple's pace in life. When Carl puts the jar on the table, the waltz and melody play again which hint at their lives returning to normal. The music demonstrates the uneventual lives of Carl and Ellie at some points of the up film.
When the theme plays on a violin, it symbolizes refinement of the civilized when they grow old. The music doesn't repeat the rising and falling strings following the balloon cart lifting off the ground in the montage scene. The music emphasizes the couple's happiness despite losing the chance to form a family and travel to paradise falls. When Ellie dies, the waltz and rhythm is silent as a solo piano plays Ellie's theme as a eulogy. When Ellie died, her theme disappeared too.
When Russell talks to Carl about his father, Ellie's theme plays again to express Carl's compassion for Russell just as Ellie did for him when they first met.
At one point, Ellie's theme plays in the background but then completely changes into a different and special song when Carl tries to rescue Russell. There's a stirring orchestral repeated musical piece. It's a symbolic way of telling the audience Carl refuses to be bound to his grief and starts his own adventure. Carl's theme mixes Ellie's theme but with a more triumphant, heroic, joyous, and new energetic form of music.
The animation
I loved how up the film blended black-and-white film well with the rest of the film's animation in the opening scene.
I loved the animation in up the film because it was so detailed and also helped us understand the characters better.
When Carl copies Charles' Muntz at the beginning of up the film through body language and clothing, it makes you love the characters.
Carl had a square-shaped body, especially his surroundings. The square represents his confinement in life to his tragedies, biases, etc. Characters like Russell and Ellie were round. Circles represent change and enthusiasm.
The themes
Elaborating on what I said earlier in my non-spoiler review, up the film made me feel quite depressed from how short Carl's transition from childhood to old age was. However, i loved how up the film made an old man the main character rather than a child. It sends a powerful message that just because you're old, doesn't mean you have to live a sad life in isolation and despair. You can have a grand adventure at any age.
up the film delivers a profound message on the meaning of life. You don't need to grand acts such as traveling around the world, becoming rich and famous, having a prestigious career, etc. The great adventure Ellie and Carl had was life itself.
Although Ellie passed away, she never truly died. She was with Carl all along in his memories, hunger for adventure, his willingness to care for Russell, etc.
In conclusion, up the film is one of the best animated movies ever made. Up the film had an emotionally impactful story that overwhelmed me and nearly made me cry. I highly recommend you watch it on DVD. Its a must-watch movie. If you want to buy it on DVD, visit the Amazon link below.
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